


Bloom

by treaddelicately



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Christmas Kisses, F/M, Mistletoe, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27899950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treaddelicately/pseuds/treaddelicately
Summary: The Astro Ambassadors might be far from home on a mission, but Daisy finds a way to bring some holiday spirit to the Zephyr.
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 23
Kudos: 61





	Bloom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wheresarizona](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wheresarizona/gifts).



> So I decided to do some holiday prompts this year for fun and to fill some creative needs between my other works and the insanity of like, life during December in general. This one sparked so much joy and fills the prompt **mistletoe** from the sweet Arizona!

The first sprig appeared after a re-fuel in late November. 

They were spending the holiday season in a dwarf galaxy just outside of Andromeda, scoping out a potential interplanetary weapons ring. Zephyr Three was comfortable but cramped enough that they didn’t have room for everyone to eat at the same table, let alone put up any sort of decorations to commemorate the corresponding time of year back on Earth.

At best it was implausible to even attempt to decorate and at worst, absolutely ridiculous considering their accommodations and daily not-routine.

But the mistletoe appeared, somehow. Daniel likely wouldn’t have even noticed if not for Daisy stopping him mid-step through the doorway from the Quinjet’s loading area with one hand on his chest, her head cocked and a playful smile on her face.

“Hey, wait. I think you owe me something.”

Puzzled, he followed the direction of her pointer finger up. A bundle of leaves and bright red berries hung over their heads, taped haphazardly in place with holiday-themed duct tape. The sight was so startling that Daniel nearly did a double-take, but when he looked back down, Daisy’s smile had grown exponentially.

Never was he going to miss an opportunity to savor one of those smiles and make it linger. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her in with a grin of his own.

“Am I right in thinking that was placed strategically, Miss Johnson?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hints of her warm laughter threaded into every word and spread through Daniel’s chest. “Now c’mere.”

It was meant to be just a peck, but neither of them seemed content with that from the moment their lips slanted together. Each one was gentle, full of promise and bordering on an insistence that Daisy seemed to insert into everything she did. Daniel broke first, breathing out a chuckle as his fingers splayed wide over her back.

“We have work to do,” he reminded her. Reports to write, calls to make, an alien race to befriend. The usual.

“Oh, I know.” Daisy wiggled out of his grip with a wink. “But you don’t get to ignore mistletoe. Those are the rules, man.”

He learned just how seriously she took the rules as mistletoe began to appear _everywhere_ on the Zephyr.

Hung from the doorways, taped to boxes of rations, placed on Daniel’s pillow when he retreated to his bunk. Every time he stumbled across another, Daisy appeared like clockwork, puckering her lips expectantly and giddy when he obliged her. She’d even gotten Kora a few times, smacking kisses to her sister’s forehead or once to an unsuspecting crew member who’d turned eight shades of purple when she planted one on his cheek.

Truth be told, he didn’t mind one bit.

Daniel had never figured Daisy for a woman who invested much in the holidays. After all, the mentions of her childhood and every holiday season she’d experienced since weren’t exactly full of glowing, sweet memories. Not like his own fond, if muddled, recollections of Christmases at home, time spent with his parents before they’d passed on. None of that was anything Daisy had ever had, so he wouldn’t blame her if she’d like to ignore the season altogether.

But seeing the genuine delight it brought her each time someone found another one of her hidden bundles was plenty of yuletide joy for him. So he indulged each of her sneak attacks with quiet fervor, letting kisses linger and looking forward to each new discovery.

The latest hiding place was the silverware drawer in the makeshift kitchen.

“Daisy,” Daniel laughed as he pulled the bundle of mistletoe out, holding it up by his thumb and forefinger. “Really?”

“Oh good, you found it!” Like she’d been lying in wait, Daisy bounced out of her chair and tilted her chin up with a beaming smile.

She’d gotten at least three or four kisses out of him before he tore himself away with a chuckle.

“Sweetheart,” he murmured, brushing his fingers through her hair. “You do realize you don’t need mistletoe as an excuse for a kiss?”

Her lips caught his again, thoroughly distracting him from the meal he’d been about to enjoy. It was just as well. He’d never be able to taste it anyway, with Daisy’s kisses lingering the way they always did.

She shrugged. “But it’s fun. My favorite kind of ambush.”

Well, he couldn’t argue with her there.

“I don’t think this is actually mistletoe, you know.” He gestured to the little plant he’d left on the counter top, tracing the tip of a particularly sharp, barbed leaf. “If I’m not mistaken, it’s actually holly.”

Daisy pouted. “It’s still festive.”

“It is,” he assured her with a gentle press of his lips to her temple. “I’m also very curious where you got all of this holly..”

She mimed zipping her lips shut. “ _That_ is top secret. SHIELD business, can’t discuss.”

“Mm,” Daniel hummed, slipping his fingers just under the hem of her t-shirt to press them into the small of her back. “And does SHIELD know that you brought parasitic plants onto their spacecraft?”

She arched into him, all bright, playful eyes. “I asked for a tree, actually. This was Mack’s compromise.”

“Oh, was it?” A laugh escaped his throat and he pressed his fingers a little deeper into her skin, bringing her closer as he leaned on the counter for balance. “So you want a Christmas tree. That’s good to know.”

Daisy’s eyebrows knit together. “I mean, it’s not like we can get a tree this year.”

“No,” Daniel shrugged. “But next year, maybe. Depending on where we are.”

It was nothing for him to imagine it, after all. Stopping back on their home planet for a little while to recharge, finding someplace safe and quiet to do it. A home base, for the two of them, between all the chaos. The image was so clear in Daniel’s mind that there wasn’t a moment of doubt, a flicker of hesitation. It just… _was_.

Daisy seemed to see it, too. Her face relaxed and her hands curled into the fabric of his shirt, wrinkling it under her grip.

“Next year,” she repeated, lips turning up at the corners. “Yeah, okay. As long as it’s a real tree.”

“You have my word. I’ll even chop it down myself.” 

“And until then…” She swiped the holly from the counter and dangled it over their heads with a beaming smile.

Daniel laughed and leaned in, sealing the promise with his lips and hands and every bit of himself that he could offer her.

After all, it didn’t matter to him if they had anything else for Christmas. If a wilting parasitic plant was all the celebration they got this year between fighting alien arms dealers, then so be it.

They had plenty of time for more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I've still got some spots on my holiday prompt list, so if you're interested in requesting a ficlet, you can find that post on tumblr [here](https://treaddelicately.tumblr.com/post/636436899529179136/its-december-2nd-and-i-have-about-a-thousand-wips). Happy holidays! 💜


End file.
